


Turbine Hall

by missdibley



Series: Panic: A Series of One-Shots Set in London (except for the one set in Edinburgh) [1]
Category: Magnus Martinsson - Fandom, Oakley (Unrelated) - Fandom, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom, Unrelated (2007), Wallander (UK TV), Wallander - All Media Types
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Fluff, London, Tate Modern, Turbine Hall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 11:25:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4704374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missdibley/pseuds/missdibley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus Martinsson and his charming wife Halla are in London with their children to meet up with some old friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turbine Hall

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired in part by my own holiday in London (which I'm currently on), and my previous fic series "Somewhere, Ireland": <http://archiveofourown.org/series/253006>.

When it began to rain on the South Bank on a Saturday afternoon in August, Magnus, Halla, and Maggy sprung into action.

Magnus, pushing Håkan in his stroller, jogged in the direction of the Tate Modern nearby, which is where they had been heading anyway. Behind him, Halla and Maggy burst into a run, pulling ahead of Magnus and the baby so they could pull the doors open, seeking shelter in Turbine Hall before they got too wet. Once inside, Magnus looked down at Halla, who was determined to avoid the smirk on his face.

“I wasn’t going to say but…”

“Go ahead. You earned it.” Halla turned to face him, permitting him to brush a damp curl away from her forehead.

“We should have brought umbrellas.” Magnus laughed when Halla rolled her eyes.

“Fine, fine.” She looked around. “Well, this is something, isn’t it?”

The great hall echoed with the sound of visitors chatting over maps, cash registers ringing from the gift shop, and the hum of escalators moving as they took people up to the galleries. There were no special exhibits there in the hall so the floor, which sloped at a gentle angle towards the center of the space, was full of children at play.

“Sweetie, be careful.” Halla called to Maggy, as the girl shook off her jacket and stuffed it in the basket in the undercarriage of Håkan’s stroller. “The floor might be wet in places.”

“Mo-om, it’ll be fi— Aunt Helen!”

Maggy ran down to Helen, who was walking slowly up the ramp, Oakley just behind her.

Helen pulled the girl into her arms and hugged her tight. “How’s my buddy?” She grasped Maggy by the shoulders. “You look mah-velous, dahling. So grown-up!”

Maggy’s eyes got wide. “Really?”

Helen looked at her in wonderment. “Yes. How old are you now?”

“I’m 9!”

Oakley joined them and put his arm around Helen. “I could have sworn you were 10.”

“Don’t encourage her!” Halla cried before kissing Helen’s cheek. “She’s still my baby.”

“Mo-om! Håkan is the baby.”

“You mean that little terror over there?” Oakley grinned.

Halla looked at her son who, having been freed from his stroller by his father, was yelling as he careened around the hall. Magnus gave a friendly wave, then resumed chasing after the little boy. Occasionally he would catch Håkan, lift him in air with a shout, then put him down to resume the chase.

“That would be him, yes.” Halla nodded. She caught Helen’s eye and, noticing the hint of concern on the younger woman’s face, cleared her throat.

“Maggy, go help your father with Håkan. I want to talk to Helen for a second.”

“But Mawm…”

“Helen will be along in a minute. Now go.”

“Baby… ” Helen looked up at Oakley sweetly.

“You’ll be alright?” Oakley touched her face, running his thumb along her jaw.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You go ahead.”

“Alright then.” Oakley looked down at Maggy and bowed. “Mademoiselle?”

Maggy blushed furiously as she placed her hand carefully on Oakley’s arm. As they walked away, Helen and Halla pushed the stroller over to the steps that bordered the south side of the hall. They sat down, watching Magnus and Oakley and Maggy chase and then be chased by Håkan, who was delighted by the attention.

Halla looked Helen in the eye. “So…”

“So…” Helen bit her lip, then looked down.

“How long?” Halla whispered.

“Just coming up on eight weeks.”

“Were you trying…”

Helen shook her head. “No, it just kind of happened…”

Halla nodded. “Right. Right. You excited? Nervous? Terrified?”

“Um, yes? To all of that?”

Halla laughed softly. “Yeah, that’s how I remember it.”

“And now you have two. They’re so great, Halla. You really lucked out.”

“I guess I did. They’re incredible, Helen. They really are.” Halla waved at Maggy as she ran past.

Helen looked at Oakley and Magnus, who had stopped to chat while the children ran around them in circles. “They all are.” She sighed. “Maggy was a surprise, right?”

“Yes, she was, and thank you for not saying she was an accident.” Halla smiled gratefully. “My brother Joe told me our sister kept calling Maggy that when she was born.”

“Oh my god! How awful!”

“Yeah,” Halla nodded. “Hence the absence of my sister, thank god.” She squeezed Helen’s hand. “Which is why I’m so glad you and Oakley are in our lives. Maggy loves you guys so much.”

Helen nodded. “I couldn’t imagine it otherwise. But who would have known, [when we met all those years ago on that flight to London](http://oeffsee.tumblr.com/ireland), that we’d still be friends?”

“Oh I did!” Halla took Helen’s hand and squeezed it. “The two of you were so sweet, making out all over Heathrow like you were…”

“Oh god…” Helen shook her head and blushed.

Halla looked at Oakley, who waved when he caught her eye. “Do you think he suspects?”

“I’m not sure. He’s been so busy, freelancing and working on his book. I don’t want to bother him…” Helen looked at her hands, which were clasped tight in her lap.

Halla covered Helen’s hands with hers. “Do you really think this is the sort of thing that would bother him? Granted, I’m not married to him, but I think I’ve known him long enough to know, or at least guess, that he’d be happy to hear this news.”

“But we’re not ready! We said we’d wait until we were a bit older, just past 30…”

“And you’re what, 29?” When Helen nodded, Halla shook her head. “So you’re a year ahead of schedule.”

“But…”

Halla tilted her head, and looked at Helen’s face more closely. “Was there something else?”

“Yeah, but it’s dumb. I just thought I would have done something with my life by now. I’m still just producing at the station, only filling in on the overnight shows that nobody watches.”

“So you’re a TV producer and emerging news presenter, married to a freelance writer and novelist. That doesn’t sound half-bad to me.” Halla tucked a lock of Helen’s hair behind her ears.

Helen smiled gratefully. “Can you tell his parents that? Or just his dad, anyway?”

“Is he still…?”

“A jerk?” Helen nodded. “Yep.”

“So let him be a jerk. We’re talking about your family. Not Oakley’s parents or your family, but you and Oakley and now the little one.  You’ve been together since you were teenagers. And long distance for a huge part of that, besides. You were young together, and you grew up together. It took a lot of work and you did it. Now you’re pregnant.” Halla bit her lip. “Helen, be honest. Do you want this baby?”

Helen’s eyes filled with tears. “Yeah.” She nodded quickly. “I really do.”

“Do you love Oakley?”

“Oh god, yes!” She sniffled, then wiped her nose on her sleeve. “But I don’t want our life to change…”

“Helen, I hate to break it to you, but that was going to happen anyway. That’s just the way life goes.”

“How do you know it’s going to be okay?”

Halla shook her head. “I don’t but I know you, and I know Oakley. You’re lovely together, and so strong together I can’t imagine that something like a baby is going to ruin that. I think you’ll find a child will make that bond stronger. You’ll always be connected. Forever.”

“Forever when you’re 29 and pregnant feels different from when you’re 17.”

“Fair enough.” Halla looked down at their clasped hands, then back up into Helen’s eyes. “Do you regret it, making that promise to each other?”

Helen shook her head. “No. Never.”

“Good.” Halla nodded. She looked up to find Magnus and Oakley were now rolling pennies down the ramp, the children running after the coins. The two women laughed whenever Håkan would come to a stop, wobble, then fall down on his bottom and clap his hands. Maggy would help him to his feet, then take his hand on the walk back up the ramp for another run and another penny.

“You think mine’ll look like that?” Helen sat up and smiled.

“Probably. Though if yours have hair as curly as ours, start stocking up on leave-in conditioner and wide-tooth combs now.”

They laughed, then got up to join Magnus and Oakley.

“You got any more pennies, love? I think Håkan just cleaned me out.” Oakley took Helen’s hand and kissed it.

“Yeah. I think so.” Casting a quick glance at Halla, Helen then looked up at Oakley. “Baby, can I talk to you? Over here.”

Oakley nodded and joined Helen at the spot where she and Halla had been talking. Halla handed Magnus a penny, then watched him send it on its way. The children shrieked as they ran off after it.

“Everything okay?” Magnus slid his arm around Halla’s shoulders as they watched Oakley and Helen talk.

Halla held her breath when Helen took Oakley’s hands in hers and began to speak. She released it when Oakley drew Helen’s arms around his waist and pulled her into a tight embrace. He cradled her head in one hand while the other was splayed across her lower back. He rocked Helen back and forth, whispering in her ear. When he loosened his grasp, it was to step back a little so he could look at her face and see her smiling up at him. They kissed, gently at first, and then Oakley began to laugh, pressing kisses all over her cheek and neck. He fell back and Helen tumbled on top of him, still laughing.

“Yeah,” Halla sighed. “I think they’ll be fine.” She looked up at Magnus, who leaned down to kiss her.

“Mawm!” Maggy interrupted them as she walked up slowly, holding Håkan in her arms.

“Yes, dear?” Halla looked down and took the baby when he reached for her. She nuzzled his cheek, which made him giggle.

“Can we go eat something?”

Halla nodded. “Sure thing. Let’s check if Helen and Oakley are able to come…”

“Yeah, food would be great.” Oakley’s cheeks were pink, and he was slightly out of breath from laughing, as he and Helen joined them again.

“Food? My answer to the question of food is always yes.” Helen nodded, stepping up to slip her arm around Oakley’s waist. “I find, all of a sudden, that I am absolutely famished.”


End file.
